Magazine

Closing the Gender Investing Gap

By Sallie Krawcheck

November 17, 2016

This is an excerpt from “Mind The Gap — And Close It: The Ellevest Guide to Dominating Your Financial Future,” our guide to closing gender gaps. Psst, you can read it all here.

If there’s one gap I’ll work to help close if it’s the last thing I do, it’s this one: the gender investing gap. We’ll dedicate a good chunk of space to it, because it’s got the potential to alter the course of your life.

Have you recently read any of those articles on “top mistakes investors make?” You know, the ones about over-trading, falling in love with your winners, panicking in market downturns, over-trading some more, overconfidence, or checking your account too often and then over-trading?

The rule from here on out is pay yourself first.

Well, those are the mistakes men typically make in investing. The mistakes we women make? They’re completely different, and they don’t start with investing. In fact, they start with not investing in the first place. Of all the assets controlled by women, 71% is in cash — aka not invested. When you leave your savings in cash, you may miss out on market gains that could be earned over time, and even worse — inflation actually lessens your purchasing power. This is the precursor to the gender investing gap, and it’s not our fault. Honestly it’s not.

The financial services industry is filled with jargon and complexity...when, in fact, investing doesn’t have to be that complicated. We’ve busted our tails at Ellevest to build an investing experience for women, based on hundreds of hours of research into what women are looking for.

What’s a future-focused, debt-free Boss B to do?

Start Where You Are

A question I commonly get is “Where do I start?” The answer is different for everyone, and depends on your unique situation. Here’s a rundown:

The very first thing you must, must, must do is pay down your credit card debt. Even better, pay it off entirely.

Pay down or refinance any other debt with an interest rate in the double digits.

Set up an emergency fund. This can be in your checking account, or better yet, in a separate savings account. (I don’t know about you, but the balance in my checking account tends to go down as fast as it goes up.) Three to six months of your take-home pay is a good guideline here. Why is this so high on the priority list? Because water heater, because refrigerator meltdown, because car transmission. Capeesh?

By this point, you’ve gotten rid of your high-interest debt — congrats! The rule from here on out is pay yourself first. Put away a percentage of your after-tax salary every month...before you figure out how much rent you can afford or how big your spending allowance is. The breakdown should look something like this: 50% for needs/30% for wants/20% for investing. I’ll trust you have plenty of insight on the needs and wants, so up next is what to do with that 20%.

Get that 401(k) match (if your company has one) by investing part of each paycheck. A match is free money; don’t leave it on the table.

Once you’ve contributed enough to get your match, invest in an IRA. Not sure which type of IRA is for you? Read more here.

Invest in an outside brokerage account. Brokerage accounts should be your last option after you’ve maxed out your retirement accounts because they don’t have the benefit of growing on a tax-deferred basis.

Another way to think of where to start/what you should be doing is age, which typically correlates to different stages in our careers and personal lives. Here’s a look at the basic milestones most people in each age group are aiming for.

The statements contained herein are the opinions of Ellevest. All opinions and views constitute our judgments as of the date of writing and are subject to change at any time without notice.

The projections of various investment outcomes are hypothetical in nature, do not reflect actual investment results, and are not guarantees of future results.

Information was obtained from third party sources, which we believe to be reliable but not guaranteed for accuracy or completeness.

The information provided should not be relied upon as investment advice or recommendations, does not constitute a solicitation to buy or sell securities and should not be considered specific legal, investment or tax advice.

The information provided does not take into account the specific objectives, financial situation or particular needs of any specific person.

Diversification does not ensure a profit or protect against a loss in a declining market. There is no guarantee that any particular asset allocation or mix of funds will meet your investment objectives or provide you with a given level of income.

Investing entails risk including the possible loss of principal and there is no assurance that the investment will provide positive performance over any period of time.

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